Why does this concrete keep turning white after its stained?
Chris Weber said
May 14, 2015
The owner says they've tried everything and it might look good for a little while but their Paver Stones around their pool always ends up turning white. As you can see in the picture it had just rained so the parts that still have a little water left on them look ok but the dry areas have a white haze on them. What caused this and what is a solution for this? Also any product names and techniques for fixing the problem and leaving the Paver Stones with a look that will last instead of a short fix would be great.
-- Edited by Chris Weber on Tuesday 26th of May 2015 11:24:57 AM
Hi Chris, I don't have a great deal of experience with this, but I think there is some mineral buildup on those pavers. This is common around pools with everything that's in the water. A product that I use to remove this kind of buildup is Front 9 Restoration's Calcium & Efflorescence remover. If you do choose to use it I would talk to Craig Harrison. He's part of this community and he's the Front 9 expert. You'll want to seal the surface after you treat it. Craig (or someone else on here) can give you guidance with that, too. I don't have a specific recommendation as far as that goes.
Hopefully others will chime in and confirm, deny, or add to what I've said. But maybe this can get you started. Best of luck!
Jeff Thompson said
May 15, 2015
Efflorescence maybe but I have never seen it that bad. im thinking moisture was trapped under the sealer and that can turn the sealer white while it is curing. A lot of DIY's will power wash and apply the sealer right away.
If that is the case you can either strip off the bad sealer and start over or get xylene. I've never used it myself, but it is supposed to emulsify the sealer enough to let the moisture escape.
Chris Weber said
May 26, 2015
I just learned these aren't paver stones in the pictures. It is one slab of concrete with lines to make the squares cut into it which was sealed that keeps turning white no matter what they put on it. Do you have any additional suggestions since its concrete instead of paver stones?
Chad Eneix said
May 26, 2015
That is very likely sealer with moisture under it. Like Jeff said, get Xylene and a good Chapin "pro" sprayer, the red metal one with the brass hardware. Also get a 16" roller and a roller frame to put on a broomstick. Sometimes you can just spray on the Xylene and the moisture will come out, sometimes you have to roll it out a bit. Spray the Xylene on pretty thick and let it sit for a little, then roll and redistribute the sealer. I have done this many times. Try it on a small area first.
If for some reason the sealer tuns white again, there may be moisture coming up through the concrete for some reason. In this case the sealer should be stripped off and a different type of sealer used. If this is the case, I would hand this off to a reputable concrete contractor, or have the customer pursue it with whoever did the sealer in the first place.
AC Lockyer said
May 26, 2015
Also is this a salt water pool?
AC
Chris Weber said
Jun 10, 2015
Its not salt or chlorine water. She mentioned what it was but just i cant think of it but its pure water basically. It used to be stained concrete and then they put sealer on it. Maybe that could be part of it. And it looks kind of like a thicker old sealer on it. She didn't want me to use much pressure at all to clean it! She basically just wanted water hose pressure to clean it. She Thought I would chip the concrete. And that could be it. If its never had a really good pressure washing to get the seal off, they could just keep sealing over old seal but they're having a wedding in a few weeks there so they just wanted a quick fix so I sealed it and it looks good for now but they said eventually it will turn white again and they've been dealing with for too many years so after the wedding their going to redo the whole pool area. Which is fine with me I can move on to the next project. Thanks for every ones help!
Jeff Thompson said
Jun 10, 2015
AC Lockyer wrote:
Also is this a salt water pool?
AC
AC....why did you ask if it was a salt pool?
Michael Derose said
Jun 10, 2015
Looks like the sealer is failing. Most likely would have to strip it off .
The owner says they've tried everything and it might look good for a little while but their Paver Stones around their pool always ends up turning white. As you can see in the picture it had just rained so the parts that still have a little water left on them look ok but the dry areas have a white haze on them. What caused this and what is a solution for this? Also any product names and techniques for fixing the problem and leaving the Paver Stones with a look that will last instead of a short fix would be great.
-- Edited by Chris Weber on Tuesday 26th of May 2015 11:24:57 AM
Hopefully others will chime in and confirm, deny, or add to what I've said. But maybe this can get you started. Best of luck!
If that is the case you can either strip off the bad sealer and start over or get xylene. I've never used it myself, but it is supposed to emulsify the sealer enough to let the moisture escape.
I just learned these aren't paver stones in the pictures. It is one slab of concrete with lines to make the squares cut into it which was sealed that keeps turning white no matter what they put on it. Do you have any additional suggestions since its concrete instead of paver stones?
If for some reason the sealer tuns white again, there may be moisture coming up through the concrete for some reason. In this case the sealer should be stripped off and a different type of sealer used. If this is the case, I would hand this off to a reputable concrete contractor, or have the customer pursue it with whoever did the sealer in the first place.
AC
Its not salt or chlorine water. She mentioned what it was but just i cant think of it but its pure water basically. It used to be stained concrete and then they put sealer on it. Maybe that could be part of it. And it looks kind of like a thicker old sealer on it. She didn't want me to use much pressure at all to clean it! She basically just wanted water hose pressure to clean it. She Thought I would chip the concrete. And that could be it. If its never had a really good pressure washing to get the seal off, they could just keep sealing over old seal but they're having a wedding in a few weeks there so they just wanted a quick fix so I sealed it and it looks good for now but they said eventually it will turn white again and they've been dealing with for too many years so after the wedding their going to redo the whole pool area. Which is fine with me I can move on to the next project. Thanks for every ones help!
AC....why did you ask if it was a salt pool?